Gokhan Inler has moved closer to securing a transfer to Arsenal after his agent revealed he had held productive talks with the manager, Arsène Wenger. "It's true to say that I have had a meeting with Wenger and we had a very positive discussion," said Dino Lamberti.

Although Udinese say he is going nowhere, the Switzerland international, who has a €10m (£7.8m) buy-out clause, has been among those seen as the solution to Arsenal's thinness in midfield.

Wenger has lost Lassana Diarra, Mathieu Flamini, Alexander Hleb and Gilberto Silva from the squad that started last season and his options extend little further at present than Cesc Fábregas, Abou Diaby - who currently has a thigh strain - and Denilson. Inler, 24, who played at Euro 2008, has also been chased by Newcastle, Juventus and Milan.

Juventus are understood to have offered €15m but he feels his career might be better served by a move to Arsenal.

Watford sent the midfielder Al Bangura home from a pre-season tour of Austria for twice missing curfew, it emerged last night. The club successfully fought to keep the 20-year-old in this country last season after he was threatened with deportation to his native Sierra Leone but he will now miss today's visit to Crystal Palace as punishment for his misdemeanour.

"Al Bangura returned home early from the recent tour of Austria for disciplinary reasons. These have since been dealt with internally," a spokesperson said yesterday. "Al Bangura remains an important part of the Watford squad."

Bangura signed for Watford in April 2005 and has gone on to make 72 appearances for the Championship side. He was ordered to return to Sierra Leone in November last year after the Home Office discovered the player did not possess the necessary papers to stay in this country. The decision posed a genuine risk to Bangura's life due to his father's involvement in the country's civil war.

But backed by an 18,000-strong petition, Watford fought the ruling and he was granted a work permit to remain in England in January. Despite the disciplinary action taken against him, Bangura remains highly-rated at Vicarage Road and is expected to return to the side for the visit of Bristol Rovers on Tuesday.

Stoke have signed the Senegal international Amdy Faye on trial from Charlton as Tony Pulis fine-tunes his side ahead of next weekend's Premier League opener.

The Wales manager, John Toshack, admits he is "worried" about the fitness of his captain, Craig Bellamy, less than a month before the World Cup qualifiers begin. Bellamy, the West Ham striker, had been out since February with serious groin and stomach problems which needed surgery and he returned at the end of last season only for the friendly in Holland on June 1.